Detroit Approves Tallest Building in Michigan

The Detroit Downtown Development Authority approved plans to break ground on what will be Michigan's tallest building.

Scheduled for a December 1, 2017 start, the mixed-use structure will fill 1.2 million square feet of space and stand about 800 feet high.

Billionaire Dan Gilbert is planning what he calls a "transformational development" on the historic J.L. Hudson department store site in Detroit. The grand old retail location was demolished in 1998.

Gilbert has had development rights to the site since 2010 and originally planned to build a 52-story building. Revised plans now call for two buildings, a residential tower that will be climb to near 800 feet tall, and a walkway connecting it to commercial space that will include an overhanging public observation deck near the top floor.

"A lot of things have changed between then and now," he said. "We took a step back and, look, this is a huge thing for Detroit, and we though it deserved a second look to make sure we were delivering to Detroit what was best for Detroiters."

During the construction phase, an estimated 5,800 construction jobs will be created. The project also will feature 240,000 square feet of office space, 75,000 square feet of public space and a 1,500 capacity performance space. The project will retain 700-plus underground parking spaces as originally planned.

"Our goal is to create a development that exceeds the economic and experiential impact even Hudson's had on the city," said Gilbert, who founded Quicken Loans. "We believe this project is so unique that it can help put Detroit back on the national - and even global - map for world-class architecture, talent attraction, technology innovation and job creation."